Eva im Bad (VI)

To all my readers, I wish you a happy new year and all the best for 2011.

It was really interesting to see all the different feedback I got for the last Eva post, because I wasn’t happy with the hands.

So here are some thoughts that came to me.

First,the spectator doesn’t necessarily dislike a certain part in your painting, but the painter himself certainly does. Maybe he or she recognizes it, but it doesn’t do any harm to the general liking.

So this leeds to an important rule, when exhibiting. Never, ever mention, that you don’t like your own pictures or parts of it.

What’s the reason, why artist sometimes have problems to like their own paintings and seem to be dissatisfied with them?

I got a new idea from Daniel Coyles book »The talent code«. He has the theory, that there aren’t special people born with a talent, but that it comes down to put in the hours to become a master. (Take any field you like). It is a combination of putting in 10.000 hours, having good teachers and most importantly to stay in an active learning zone. It is this active learning zone, where our dissasisfaction often derives from. You are setting a goal, try to get there, see the difference,between your goal and what you achieved and you start all over again. Concerning the faces people make when they are in this zone, it doesn’t seem to be a comfy place.

No, it is not always a comfy zone, but a place where it is worthwhile staying in, because you can often feel, how you are moving forward, even though you feel bad about certain parts of your painting.

Because it is new year and don’t we all like new year resolutions, here are some of mine.

Astrid Volquardsen

Sarah Bachhuber Peroutka

3rd, January 2011 - 04:17 AM
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I read on another artist's blog that when someone expresses admiration for our painting and we (the artist) say, "oh, well, this part isn't very good," or "I had such difficulty with…" what we are communicating to the viewer is "You do not have good taste or you would see that." When a viewer likes our painting, we should say, "Thank you!"

Astrid Volquardsen

3rd, January 2011 - 08:14 AM
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Hi Sarah,thanks for dropping by.Yes, you are right and you mentioned the perfect response, if somebody likes your picture.

hmuxo

31st, January 2011 - 09:37 PM
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Your paintings are absolutely beautiful and your posts are so interesting! I hope to see more of your paintings soon.

Jane

3rd, February 2011 - 04:08 PM
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Astrid, really like your work, you are very talented.

Cobalt Violet

7th, February 2011 - 01:56 AM
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Gorgeous! So inspiring!

About me

I am fascinated by the light conditions of the countryside, particularly in Northern Germany. I grew up in Hamburg so I am used to the rugged countryside and sometimes bleak weather and light conditions. The light in northern country landscapes is very special and it is indescribably beautiful. It touches my soul and opens up my heart when I visit the coast and feel the elemental force of the sea.
As opposed to my seascapes, I am very interested in the closely cropped views of the harbor and its endless diversity of shapes and colors.

With pastel painting l have found the ideal medium to artistically and creatively transform these special conditions of illumination. I love to spread pigment on paper without anything else in between.
Pastel paintings come alive when you put different layers of colour on the canvas. This is a great artistic stimulus for me. Which combination of colour pigments can be used to achieve precisely the effect of light and shade that I want? During the artistic process, layers of colour are continually built up and removed until the light situation has been captured and the picture can unfold its unique illuminating power.